Disclaimer: As in ch. 1

Prisoner camp in China

"I know a lot. You also have twin sisters, Nicole Sarah and Jessica Caroline Rabb." Lieutenant broke off and stared silently ahead.

"How in the world do you know all about my family? Who are you!?" Matt grew tense when he realized exactly how much information this man knew about the people he cared for.

"Do you remember that you once hid a sick bunny in the basement and your mother almost killed you when she found out? It wasn't because you keep it there; it was because you didn't treat it properly after you rescued it. She eventually nursed his wound and allowed you to have it as a pet."

"How do you know about the bunny?"

"I know all your secrets, Jonas, just like you know all of mine."

"Jonas? Nobody called me by that name except Trey..." His voice trailed off as he suddenly realized what was happening. This man, Lieutenant, had to be Harmon David Rabb, III, the brother he was sure was dead.

Matt stayed frozen as everything rushed over him. "Harmon David Rabb, III, how could you do that?! Why didn't you tell me?! It's been seven months, and you just let me know now! I can't believe you. Do you know that everyone think you are dead? You are one selfish arrogant jerk!" He screamed, ignoring the fact that this was the first time either of them had brought up their families.

He continued to rant for a little while, and Trey just sat there quietly. Eventually thought, Matt ran out of anger and, instead, grabbed his brother in a fierce hug. "I missed you so much, Trey." He sobbed as he held on to his brother tightly.

"I missed you, too, little brother." Trey whispered, letting his own tears fall.

After they had cried themselves out, they just stared at each other, not sure what to say. At last, Trey broke the silence. "So, my baby brother is a commander, eh?"

"Trey..."

"Call me Lieutenant, Matt."

"Why?"

"You don't want Chinese to know that we are brothers. And you really don't want them to know that we're the sons of Harmon Rabb, Jr. Because Dad was CNO when the war started, he's not exactly on the top of their 'people we like' list."

"They never found out that you're his son?"

"Yeah, right. Do you think that, with my name, they would miss it? It's you I'm worrying about, Matt. They captured me eleven years ago. In other words, I'm way out of the loop. I don't have any information they can use, even if I was willing to tell them. You're different, though. You're new; you've got information they want. If they realized that you're my brother, they'll use me to make you tell them stuff."

"But, we share the same last name, for Christ sake! They'll figure it out anyway, sooner or later."

"Calm down! That may be quite true, but getting all worked up about it won't help. I'll certainly do my best to keep them from finding out." He answered in a calm tone. "So, Matt, tell me about our family."

Matt knew very well that Trey was changing the subject, but he decided to go along with it. "Ok, Trey." Seeing Trey about to correct him, he hurried on with what he was saying. "Don't! I know I'm supposed to call you 'Lieutenant,' but what I'm telling you is about my family, our family. Trey's my brother; Lieutenant is just a stranger.

"Ok, now, I'll start with Dad. As I told you, he retired two years after you went down. It was very hard for him. After all, his father went down on Christmas Eve, and, 58 years later, his son goes down three days before Christmas. He just lost it, Trey." Matt stopped for a minute then continued again, "His health deteriorated almost at once. You should have seen his face the day of your 'funeral.' I'd never seen that face since the day Grandma Trish died. When the 21-gun salute was carried out, Uncle Sturgis and Uncle Sergei had to hold him up, or he would have collapsed right there. He took it really hard, Trey."

"I didn't know...If Dad was like that, I can't even imagine how Mom was." He whispered.

"Mom lost it when the casket was lowered to the ground. I was so afraid that she'd just die there. Just two weeks before Navy declared you dead, I, being a jerk, announced that I'd gotten my wings. Mom didn't say much about it, but I knew that she didn't like the idea of another of her sons becoming an aviator...and now I'm also another son MIA. Trey, I have to tell you one thing: Mom and Dad never believed that you're dead."

"They didn't?" Trey sounded a bit surprised.

"No, they don't, even now. That casket was only a symbol for them. The tomb in Arlington is only a place where we can go if we miss you. A place for kids to go, if they want to know about their Uncle Trey. Even if they never saw you, they know about you."

"Kids?"

"Yeah...all five of them, well, probably seven by now."

"Wow! I can't imagine you with 7 kids, Matt!" He teased, grinning.

"Of course not, you dope head!" Matt slapped his brother's arm playfully. "I only have 2 boys. The rest are Albert's, Nicole's and Jessica's."

"I missed a lot, didn't I?" Trey said softly.

"I'm sorry to say it, but, yes, you did."

"So, who's the girl that tamed my little brother?"

"Elaine." Matt answered, almost shyly

"Elaine Turner?"

"That's the one. Our first son, Harmon David Rabb, IV, was born a year after we get married, and was followed by another son, Andrew David Rabb, four years later." He said, beaming with fatherly pride.

"Harmon Rabb, IV?"

"Yeah...and I'm going to tell you what I told Dad the day little Harm was born: I named him to honor Grandpa Rabb, Dad, and Trey."

Trey was a bit overwhelmed. "I...I don't know what to say, Matt."

"Then don't say anything. Just promise me that you'll hang on until we eventually get out of this place."

"I'll try, Matt. I have been trying for 11 years." He answered softly, and his tone made Matt shiver.

"No, I want you to promise me!"

Hesitating for a moment longer, Trey nodded. "I promise."

"Good. Now back to the topic...Where was I? Oh, about my boys! Little Harm knew almost everything about you. Well, Andrew knows a lot, too, but he's only two."

"You seem to have a wonderful family."

"Thanks, Trey. Ok, enough about me. Do you remember Danielle?"

"Of course I do. Albert liked to terrorize her when we were kids. He would always tease her until she screamed for us or AJ."

Matt just winked at Trey.

"No away! Are you saying that our baby brother married her?"

"Yeap! Our old Albert terrorized her into marry him."

"Who could ever think of that? That little monster liked to tease her to death, yet she was the one to tame him!"

"Yeah, and they've got twin two year-olds: Albert, Jr., and Harmony Catherine."

"AJ Rabb, Jr? If he's half the man his daddy was, God have mercy on us."

They both chuckled fondly as they remembered all the scrapes AJ had gotten into over the years.

"How about the girls, Matt?"

"Ah...Daddy's little girls. They're married, too. Nicole married Mikey, but I bet you could have guessed that. She also changed her designator. She's at JAG, now. Their son, John Francis, is about 3 years old. Now, you're not going to believe this."

"What?"

"Jessica is married to Jeremy."

"She married Uncle Spook's son? Now that's interesting."

"Uh-huh."

"Dad actually agreed to it? I'm certainly having trouble believing that!"

"Well, as I recall, it took a lot of talking to convince him. You know how protective Dad is about the girls, but I think he just wanted to make Jeremy sweat."

"Hmm, let me try to imagine what Dad probably did to him..."

They were both silent for a moment, then they burst out laughing.

"Poor guy!" Trey gasped when they had finally stopped.

"Yeah! He's actually a good kid. Sometimes, he can be as annoying as Uncle Clay, but he's very loyal to his friends, just like his father."

"I should have asked him for tips on surviving interrogations. I mean, after Dad's session, this place would be no problem!"

They began to laugh again, but the door suddenly opened. Two men in military uniform entered and grabbed Matt.

"Where the hell are you going to take him? You just questioned him this morning!" Trey protested, but, without a word, the men dragged Matt away.

Before Matt disappeared through the door, he turned to Trey. "Lieutenant, don't forget what you have promised me! Consider it an order, Lieutenant!"

Anything else he might have said was cut off as the door swung shut. Trey had understood what he said, though. No matter what, he wouldn't let Matt down.

He rubbed his temples nervously. With a lot of luck, they might not connect their names. His name had been too obvious, unlike Matt's. His father being CNO hadn't helped, and the name itself was easy connecting with the CNO's.

He just hoped that Matt wouldn't have to suffer the same way. After all, he was family. Family...as he thought about it, a tear began to make its way slowly down his cheek.

TBC….

Reviews time! :P